Appeals Tribunal Date next week

by Gilda
(Nyack, NY)

I went on an APPROVED personal leave of absence in August. I am now a victim of circumstance. I went on leave to care for my kids and find a new caregiver as my previous caregiver bailed out on me at the last minute. I spoke with HR leave dept and told them I expected to be back by mid-November. A set date was never given or communicated to me. The unfortunate circumstance is that my original boss was let go and I had an interim boss who quite honestly, couldn't be bothered with our district as he had his own to handle and we were just added onto him. Not to mention, he was always EXTREMELY difficult to get a hold of. While I was out, a new boss was hired. I didn't know this until I received a call from this person one night (around mid-November). I thought he was calling to talk about my LOA but he really just wanted me to tell him where the write ups for an employee of mine were as he was trying to fire her. He glossed over the fact that I had been "out of the office for a while" and that was it, call was over. I tried to reach out to the number he called from but no response. A few days after that call, I received a COBRA letter (NOT A TERMINATION LETTER) stating that I was eligible for COBRA since I was terminated. I was totally surprised but I recalled my conversation with the current boss and I realized that I had already been termed when I spoke with him. So I went directly to unemployment. I had a phone interview where the investigator was condescending and accusatory the entire time... Apparently, everything I said was a lie. He of course denied my UI Benefit due to Voluntarily leaving for other employment(don't know where that came from), not able to work due to family care issues and severe misconduct. I appealed and now I have a hearing next week and am particularly nervous after reading whats on your site because I didn't realize it would be this intense. I have never received unemployment before so this is all new to me. Basically, the person I was supposed

to contact did not respond and I was fired. The investigator said he had docs from my employer including my termination letter which I never received and a doc stating the date I was supposed to be back which had November 1st as the date. I called my employers HR dept and one thing that was very interesting to me was that the HR rep showed my return date to be Nov.22nd which is more in line with my Mid-November than Nov.1st. The rep said he had no idea where the investigator would have gotten the doc with the Nov.1st date because he doesn't show that date anywhere on his data. Do I have a shot at winning the unemployment benefit? I have spoken to a few lawyers and they all say the case is interesting and they want me to come in but its a few hundred dollars which I don't have. It really just seemed like they wanted to make an easy $300 and let me go on my way. I would really appreciate any insight you could give me to get me ready for this stressful hearing. Thanks and I appreciate your time in reading this and hopefully replying.

Hi Gilda,

I'd be happy to provide you with some insights. I tell you this because I'd do it anyway, but NY is one of those states I'm not able to refer you to a rep for anyway ..

Just email me and make sure you give me your number and some times you'll be available and I'll call you. You can explain in detail and I can make sure you know to do what you need to .. to prove the interviewer apparently lost his mind .. mentioning sever misconduct .. I thought that was a term only New Jersey used after they instituted those three different kinds of misconduct in the summer of 2011 so they could start denying more claims.

Comments for Appeals Tribunal Date next week

I guess my response about your daughter's denial would be to ask a question to drill down to the actual issue causing the denial.

Just from what you told me, I don't think the denial was only caused by the fact she had been self-enrolled in school and attended school for the entirety of the six months (26 weeks is the typical maximum duration for full unemployment benefits) she collected benefits, but because the tribunal examiner also found that her attendance at school translated to her NOT being able and available to accept a new suitable job because of her school schedule, or possibly, because she couldn't prove she searched for new work, per the requirements of the NJDOL's unemployment rules.

Not sure what NJ requires each week as far as job searching goes, but I do know it's why most claimant handbooks include a job search log one can copy and use each .. so just in case, a claimant needs to drag that log out as their proof, they really were complying with state conditional eligibility rules .. about looking for a job.

A job search log can be used to prove a person is able available to work, despite if they are attending school, or not. They can also help those in states where the rules allow for going to school without automatically disqualifying a claimant from benefits. Of course when a claim interviewer calls to ask question to resolve an A&A, or the job search issue, or even not attending a job/school counselor meeting (now mandatory in some states soon after you apply for benefits) the interviewer, may, or may not want to hear from the claimant, that they understand getting a job is their priority and they are not using the benefits as a subsidy to attend school they didn't first get approved via the employment half of the unemployment department.

The primary issue with going to school without this agency approval, which may, may not exempt a person from conducting a job search is the hours/days for school and whether the claimant would allow school scheduling to interfere with any new suitable job .. if offered.

Tons of questions about receiving unemployment and going to school simultaneously .. here.

The other problem I see for your daughter now, to avoid repaying benefits is that a tribunal hearing (lower level appeal) has already taken place and a board appeal, (usually a written argument vs. verbal argument made at tribunal hearings) is needed. Board appeals are based on the record of the tribunal hearing. The written argument and the recording of the hearing need to support why the tribunal hearing examiner's decision was wrong. And they can be wrong sometimes because who knows if the NJ hearing examiner actually did ignore, or misinterpret facts presented by your daughter, or regulations and precedent decisions that may of caused a different outcome and tribunal decision.

My daughter is enrolled is a dental assistant. She got laid off and applied for UI in NJ , then she started attending school for her associate degree to become a dental hygienist. She attended the UI orientation and they had set up an appointment for her to see a counselor. She didn't keep the appointment. After her six months were over her extension was denied for self school enrollment. She went through a Tribunal appeal, but was also denied for self enrollment in school.

Jan 31, 2013Rating

Just filled out the formby: Gilda

Hi Chris.Just filled out the form

Got it and sent you an email.

Jan 31, 2013Rating

Nothing Yetby: Chris - Unemployment-tips

Gilda,

Just wanted to let you know I've received nothing as of yet.

If you fill out the form to request a rep here, you will receive an automated email from me which includes my phone #.

Chris

Jan 31, 2013Rating

Responseby: Gilda

Hi Chris. Thanks for the response. Yes I worked in NJ. And I also filled out the form with my number and times for a call back from you.Thanks again!Gilda